Survival Class 101
by Distant Voice
Summary: [HB] Hiei wants to get rid of Kuwabara; Botan gets annoyed of Hiei; The Yu Yu gang wants to help bringing the two together; Botan ends up thinking Hiei is in love with Shizuru; What mass chaos! Whew, how hard can it be to make the two fall in love?
1. And so it all begins

Survival Class 101  
  
By: Shizuka  
  
Disclaimer: As always, I DO NOT OWN Yu Yu Hakusho. Got it?  
  
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Summary:  
  
Botan is assigned to "protect" Kuwabara from getting killed by a very protective  
  
brother while on his date with Yukina. She soon found herself in an uncomfortable  
  
position: it's either she helps out Kuwa-chan with his love affair and get herself  
  
tortured by Hiei later, or she can help Hiei and break up the kawaii couple (which  
  
was a thing she really dislike to do.) Poor Botan, what's a girl got to do?  
  
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Prologue – And so it all begins...  
  
"You must put a stop to this ridiculous idea!" the short-tempered, fire demon slammed his fist onto Koenma's wooden desk. Neatly stacked paper works fell and scattered everywhere.  
  
Koenma whined as he scanned all the well-organized papers now laid messily around his desk.  
  
"Bu-but I can't interfere with their personal privacies."  
  
"Then prepare yourself in the future with a dead baka ningen and a felon on the loose."  
  
With that, Hiei stomped out of Koenma's office. The toddler sighed sadly and begins to categorize files when a bubbly, blue-haired girl walked in...  
  
"I thought I just saw Hiei walked out of here. He seemed upset. What's wrong?"  
  
"He wants me to stop Kuwabara from going out on that date with Yukina or else he's going to stop them himself."  
  
"Does he even know what a 'date' is?"  
  
Botan giggled, remembering her visit to Genkai's yesterday and Kuwabara picked the best time to ask Yukina out when EVERYBODY was there. Everyone noticed the irate expression and the twitching on Hiei's face after he had heard about it. If it weren't for Kurama, Kuwabara would be a cleaved carrot-top by now.  
  
"What do you think?! Anyhow, I was thinking..."  
  
"You were thinking..." Botan trailed off.  
  
The infant's eyes suddenly flashed with a mischievous spark as he turned slowly to smile at Botan. The ferry girl blinked questionably at him, having a bad feeling about it.  
  
"Ko-Koenma?"  
  
"Aah, Botan, the BEST worker there ever was! I'd like to say that it is an honor to have such a diligent person like you here working for Reikai..."  
  
"... And since you've been so dedicated to Reikai, I shall present you with another easy, no-sweat assignment!"  
  
"Which is..." Botan didn't like where this is going toward at all.  
  
"You will be supervising Kuwabara and Yukina's little date and make sure Hiei wouldn't do anything to harm Kuwabara. Pretty simple case, ne?"  
  
"What?! Are you crazy?! Me? Supervising Kuwabara to make sure that Hiei Doesn't hurt him?"  
  
"Exactamente!" [1]  
  
"You've got to be kidding! I'd be out of my mind if I accepted this assignment. Why don't you ask Yusuke or Kurama to do it? From my personal experience, they are a lot better at this kind of things than I am."  
  
"They wouldn't like to do it during their vacations anyways. Last time I asked Yusuke to do something for me, he almost gave me a black eye!"  
  
"Oh, so you leave it to me? That's very 'thoughtful' of you! What about me? I deserve a break just like they do!"  
  
"Okay, okay. I'll double your break time when you accomplish this case."  
  
"Mmmm... I donno... it's very hard to keep Hiei from killing people..."  
  
"Triple your break time?"  
  
"Bingo! I'll do it!" The cheerful deity chirped happily and left out of the room.  
  
Koenma leaned back on his armchair, and sucked his pacifier in relief.  
  
"Now that's settled... Ogre! Get your lazy butt here and fix this mess! I need to go take my afternoon nappie!"  
  
..................  
  
Our favorite ferry girl has not yet fully understood what kind of situation she had got herself into...  
  
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[1] Spanish word for 'exactly', or at least I think it is.  
  
A/N:  
  
How do you guys like the story? Good start or bad? I need all your humble opinions on this so I can decide that whether I should continue or not.  
  
About my other fics, I promise you that I will be able to at least update one of them 'cause spring break is coming! Yeah! So buckle yourself up for my updates!! Meanwhile, you can check out the stories on my favorite list. They are all very well written!  
  
See you next time! 


	2. My life may be short lived

Survival Class 101  
  
Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho, me no own. Don't sue.  
  
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Chapter 1 – My life may be short-lived  
  
"Botan, what did you get this for?"  
  
Keiko asked, holding a fake wig in front of Botan's face. They had just come back from shopping at the store. And Botan is having a sleepover at Keiko's house.  
  
"Um... I just thought it looked... interesting?" Botan lied while brushing her hair with a comb.  
  
"This? C'mon, Botan, you can tell me what's going on."  
  
"Well... I-I'm supposed to supervise Kuwabara's date with Yukina so that Hiei won't hurt him." Botan decided to let out her little concealed mission as she fiddled her fingers nonstop.  
  
"Why would Hiei want to hurt Kuwabara?" asked Keiko, showing confusion.  
  
"He doesn't want him to be near Yukina."  
  
"And why is that? He likes her?"  
  
"In a way."  
  
"What?! Hiei is in love with Yukina?!"  
  
"No! No! What I meant is um... brotherly love."  
  
"Brotherly love?"  
  
"Eeh... Hiei is just very fond of Yukina so he sees her like his own sister, you see." The blue head expressed her cat-face as she covers up her flaw after she almost "spilled the beans" by accident.  
  
"Oh... Why didn't you say so in the first place? For a second, you almost had me into thinking that Hiei is Yukina's brother."  
  
O-o  
  
"I mean... that's impossible, right? They are nothing alike!"  
  
"Of course... hehehee."  
  
'Oh me and my big blabber mouth!'  
  
Smiling weakly as she pulled herself into the sleeping bag, Botan said "goodnight" to Keiko. She felt bad for not telling her best friend the truth. She could imagine if Keiko ever came to know the truth, she would have exploded on her for lying to her. But then again, who can blame her? It's the best not to mess with Hiei's little secrets if you value your life.  
  
'What am I suppose to do to stop Hiei? Why did I say 'yes' to Koenma in the first place? Oh yeah...because of that long-waited break I wanted. Hmm, how will I be able enjoy my break when I'm chopped into Botan mince as a side dish?!'  
  
Botan sighed deeply as she trying to revise a plan for the 'date' tomorrow. Hiei is definately going to be there, doing anything he can think of to torture Kuwabara for whatever reasons. Fingering the fake wig, Botan sighed again. This was going to be a restless night...  
  
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The next day...  
  
"Yukina, my sweet, where do you want to go next?" asked Kuwabara, exiting the mall while holding the delicate ice apparition close to him.  
  
"I'm not sure, I've never really being to the city before." Yukina smiled. She didn't mind the closeness, partly because she was clueless about the orange head's true intention.  
  
"Hey! How 'bout let's go and get something to eat?"  
  
"Sounds great."  
  
The two walked together toward a restaurant down by the street. Sneakily, a black-haired girl followed after them. She corrected her glasses as she fixed her focus on the 'lovebirds'. When Kuwabara and Yukina and arrived the place, their stalker promptly walked in also and hid herself in a nearby table.  
  
"Seats for two, please."  
  
"Right this way, mister."  
  
The waitress led Kuwabara and Yukina to a table right next to the window. After settling down, the waitress distributed the menus to them and got out a notepad to take their orders.  
  
"Kazuma, I don't understand this complicated book. How do you read it?"  
  
"Don't worry, babe, I'll order for you." Quickly wiping away the large sweat-drop on his forehead, Kuwabara was trying to make every second a pleasant memory for his "future-wife".  
  
"Let's see... I'll have some fries. Ma'am, can you get a sundae for her?"  
  
"Certainly, and may I say that your lady friend here looks absolutely darling. You are a very lucky young man." Winking at Kuwabara, the waitress nudged him with hints.  
  
"Hehee, thank you!" Kuwabara blushed while Yukina took the chance to study the decorations in the eatery.  
  
Their stalker lowered her menu in front of her to get a better view of the two.  
  
"Bingo! So far, so good."  
  
The girl scanned the area carefully and looked at her wrist watch-like device.  
  
"Now, hopefully he won't show up."  
  
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP...  
  
'Oh! I take that back!'  
  
Just as soon as the words came out of her mouth, the device started beeping like crazy. Everyone in the restaurant turned to the stranger. The girl panics, trying to turn off her watch. A waitress came toward her:  
  
"Miss, may I ask you to please turn off your electronic device. You're disturbing the customers."  
  
"I-I, um... Hold on!" said the girl as she took off.  
  
The others stared her weirdly and then went back dining.  
  
When the black-haired girl ran out to the parking lot, the beeping of her watch stopped.  
  
"That was odd."  
  
She cleared the sweat off her face and sank to the ground against the wall. Suddenly, a shining object came to her neck so fast that she hadn't even being able to catch her breath yet.  
  
"What do you think you are doing here?" the black figure demanded for an answer.  
  
The girl's glasses fell from her face when she realized the tip of the sword is only millimeters away from her neck. She shuddered.  
  
"Do-do I k-know y-you?"  
  
"Stop your little childish pretending, ferry girl. The toddler sent you here, didn't he?"  
  
"Um... no... And did I mention that you look fine today?" Botan gulped timidly, trying to sweet-talk the fire demon into moving his sword elsewhere.  
  
"Hn. Spear me with your flatteries. However, there is a reason I made that ridiculous device of yours go haywire." Said Hiei, still holding on to his sword firmly.  
  
"W-what is it...?"  
  
Seeing Botan shivering with fear, Hiei let out a smug, yet diabolical smirk.  
  
"I have plans for you..."  
  
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A/N:  
  
Hm... I didn't know that there would be people who like this story... I think this chapter stinks. It didn't really turn out good as how it should be.  
  
Sorry for the long wait. I'm still looking for a co-writer. Well, actually, somebody already has applied though, and I'm in the process of waiting for that person to reply back. Until then, there will be slow updates. Why? Because my inspirations are slipping. (I did write some of my ideas ahead in other chapters for this story, but I still need to find a way to link them altogether.)  
  
I will probably resume to my regular updates in about two weeks, probably after the beginning of July. I need sometime to refresh my brain cells. So, be patient. If you want to e-mail me for whatever reasons, go ahead. I practically go online everyday. I just don't update my stories though. 


	3. Decisions, decisions, decisions

Survival Class 101  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Yu Yu Hakusho, you fans would praise me. Why? 'Cause I would definitely make Hiei and Botan get together. But the reality is just too cruel!  
  
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Chapter 3 – Decisions, decisions, decisions...  
  
"I have plans for you..."  
  
Botan was practically inarticulate. She doesn't have any idea why Hiei was threatening her; she didn't quite understand what he had meant in his sentence either. Whatever it signifies, it already brought goose bumps out of her just by the way he spoke. Nevertheless, all she cares right now is holding on to her dear life. Maybe with luck, the killer demon might just be kind enough to go easy on her.  
  
"Get up."  
  
Surprisingly Hiei withdrew his weapon. The blue head was uncertain if Hiei's "plan" is just to get her off the ground, or perhaps she had just heard it wrong in the first place. She shakily stood up from where she sat and dusted herself slowly.  
  
"Um..." the deity didn't know what to say at the moment. When she finally glanced over to Hiei, the fire demon only looked away without saying anything, leaving Botan puzzled.  
  
'What's up with him? First scares me off, and now the silent treatment? Hm, he just likes to trick with people's mind so much, huh? Good thing is I'm still in one piece... at least for now. If he knows I'm here as an undercover, I might just die again! Aww, I haven't even got my first kiss from anyone yet!' Botan thought as she tried to slip away with Hiei's back turned on her.  
  
"I don't recall giving you any permission to leave, now did I?"  
  
If there has anything that could escape Hiei's sight, it wouldn't be the ferry girl's attempt trying to escape. Botan froze into her place. The thing she dislikes the most about Hiei is that he acts almighty and high before others and starts to order them around like they were his slaves.  
  
"I need to use the restroom. It's, um, sort of an emergency." Botan displayed her famous, innocent cat-face while she laughed nervously, hoping the fire demon would buy her excuse.  
  
"Why are you running away? Do I frighten you?"  
  
At that, Botan didn't answer. She doesn't expect saying a "no" and quivering at the same time would make Hiei believe she was speaking the truth. Our favorite ferry girl was flashed red with embarrassment. Why was she scared of somebody who is shorter than her anyway?!  
  
"Hn. I thought so. Weaklings like you should be feared by those who has authority over you." Hiei stated cockily and regarded Botan with mockery.  
  
There he goes again, commenting her with bitter. Botan's face burned with anger. She really wished that she had her precious oar right now to whack Hiei upside down. 'If I can still get out of this, I must beg Genkai to teach me some martial arts, so I can teach that arrogant jerk Hiei a lesson on treating people with more decency!'  
  
Reading Botan's mind, Hiei simply smirked again with amusement: "Don't bother. I far more surpass you in both wits and strength."  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! What do you want with me?! Can't a girl ever get some peace when she's only trying to look for some food to eat?" Botan snapped a little bit harshly back.  
  
"That's a lie. You're not here to dine, so drop the act. I'm tired of playing games with you."  
  
"Oh, look who's talking! I don't want to play any games with you either. Why don't you just leave me alone? I'm sure we'd both be happy that way."  
  
"I would gladly leave you to your pathetic life afterwards. Right now, I have a use for you."  
  
"I'm not your tool. Why should I listen to you?"  
  
"Then I guess it's your loss if you decide to be foolish." Hiei's eyes shifted back to his sword.  
  
And she hated it so much when he does that... Her life is back on the line again.  
  
"Alright, alright. What do you want me to do?"  
  
Botan sighed in defeat. What was her suppose to do then? Hiei is not the type of person who would care much about the consequences of being punished if she really got him upset and he decides to disintegrate her into dusts with his dragon technique. The point is, she'll still be dead no matter what Koenma does to Hiei.  
  
Hiei marched near the restaurant building and paused, attention focused on a specific pair of people that are inside through the glass window.  
  
"Simple. You go in and lure the baka out, I'll kill him once he gets here."  
  
"What?! That's what you've been had in mind?"  
  
Overwhelmed, Botan understood perfectly who that "baka" was without the fire demon saying his name. Her object in this mission was to keep Kuwabara alive, and now she must help Hiei too if she wants to survive. She should have fled when she had the chance, but anyone with a brain can figure out that she can't outrun the agile fire demon; and also, her orange- head friend will still be in the danger of losing his life. The only thing the bubbly ferry girl of the Sanzu River can think of doing at this time is to stall/distract Hiei as much as possible.  
  
"You oppose?"  
  
"No! Of course not! I just don't think that would work out."  
  
"Are you questioning my plan?" The 'you-are-signing-your-death-wish-if- you-dare-try-your-luck-to-disagree-with-me' look was now plastered all over Hiei's face.  
  
"No... but you do know that if you kill him, you'll be sent to Reikai prison."  
  
"So? If my freedom can exchange for Yukina's eternal happiness, I'd be willing to take any risk at will." Said Hiei thoughtfully, crimson orbs emitting a soft glow.  
  
Botan suddenly felt sympathized for Hiei. It would be such a sweet thing for him to say if the whole situation was different and without the idea of murdering Kuwabara. The ferry girl smiled, but she couldn't help feeling sad for Hiei. 'I guess he wants his sister to be happy more than anything in this world...'  
  
"Look, Hiei. I know your intentions for Yukina. I think I can assist you with this." Botan scratched her head hesitantly.  
  
"Are you saying that you share the same opinion as I do toward the buffoon?"  
  
"Hmm, not entirely. I still think Kuwa-chan and Yukina make a cute couple. But I've got a plan that will not land you in trouble."  
  
"Let's hear it, though I doubt a ditz like you can come up with anything clever."  
  
Ignoring another one of Hiei's bitter comments, Botan let her brain rested for a while to come up with this "plan" she is talking about. She still can't believe she's doing this for Hiei. For goodness's sake, Hiei!!  
  
"Okay, I've got it."  
  
"Out with it already. I hope you do realize that you're testing my patience here."  
  
"I need you to listen carefully... We'll go into the restaurant and pretend looking for a meal as well, and we met up with Kuwabara and Yukina out of 'coincidence'. Then we can sit with them."  
  
"And what's that going to do?" asked Hiei, rather felt that he shouldn't have asked Botan what her plan was in the first place.  
  
"Well, Kuwabara won't be able to do anything to Yukina with us around. That'll make the time they spent together less enjoyable. What do you think?"  
  
"What do I think? I think it's completely idiotic. I was going for something more efficient."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like get rid of the nuisance, permanently."  
  
"I know how you feel here, Hiei. And yes, killing Kuwabara might solve your problem. But do you suppose that Yukina would be very happy when she discovers one of her friend is dead, and her brother, who is going to be imprisoned, was responsible for the cause?" Botan reasoned logically. She was surprised that she actually sounded like Kurama when he gives out his intelligent lecture.  
  
"Hn. You would have a point if you didn't miss out one more important factor, Yukina doesn't know that I'm related to her."  
  
"Don't be so sure about that!"  
  
"What do you mean? If you tell her, you'll be the second item to kill today on my list."  
  
"Nah! I didn't... yet. But there's no guarantee that the others won't slip!" The deity stuck out her tongue out playfully at Hiei.  
  
"Hn." Hiei growled and turned his head away.  
  
"It's really up to you, you know. If you don't want to, then we can all just go home." Hands folded together behind her back, the deity was hoping Hiei would choose the later choice.  
  
"Fine, I'll play along." Hiei thought for a moment before speaking lowly.  
  
'Hiei actually agreed with me. This might turn out just fine after all.' Thinking to herself, Botan nodded back to Hiei, fully missing out on the devilish smirk on his face. The gravity-defying haired boy quietly laughed at the girl's naivety for believing that he wouldn't do anything to Kuwabara once they are inside. Ideas forming in his head, Hiei put his hands back to his pockets and walked casually toward the entrance of the restaurant.  
  
"By the way," Hiei started as he sauntered pass by Botan, catching her attention.  
  
"Something wrong?"  
  
"I suggest you take that disguise off of you. It doesn't suit you."  
  
"Oh, I forgot!" Botan tossed her wig inside of her bag as she watched Hiei, being ungentlemanly, opened the glass door without waiting for the lady and let himself in first. Shrugging off, she entered after him, once again missing out on Hiei's mischievous tone when he made remarks on her appearance.  
  
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A/N:  
  
Forgive me if things didn't make any sense in this chapter. And forgive me if you felt disappointed due to the fact this chapter didn't turn out the way you wanted. I'm trying my best not to make the characters too OOC.  
  
I've finally come up an effective plan that can help me finish all my stories faster. From now on, I'll only be updating this story, (probably once a week). And the other ones will sort of be on hiatus. Until I'm done with this fic, I'll go back to update the rest one by one. This way, I can focus more without messing up things in my head. So, sorry if you like my other stories and wanted me to update them too.  
  
And last of all, my huge thanks to all of you who reviewed. You've made a girl happy for the day! 


	4. Getting acquainted with future in laws

Survival Class 101  
  
Disclaimer: If you're still reading this, you've got a problem. Why do you think I'm here writing fictional stories, hm? Anyways, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.  
  
I know, I know, I said I would be updating once a week. But I'm currently suffering/recovering from sunburns and exhaustion of standing for a whole four hours under the sun on the Liberation Day Parade. Feh, and my mom had to drag me there... Next update will be faster though, I think. I'll work on it after I post this chapter up. R & R! (--Blahs--) = my annoying talking in the story.  
  
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Chapter 4 – Getting acquainted with the future "in-laws"  
  
Shooting cold glares to whoever that seemed to be staring at his strange way of clothing was something Hiei has been doing ever since he set a step on the ningen place. Botan was trying to keep her profile as low as possible and also Hiei's. But the fire demon was not following her lead at all as they were agreed on before. He walked through the crowds with head high and up, as if gracing all the pitiful souls with his holy presence. The blue-head shook her head and looked at Hiei in the corner of her eye while avoiding the embarrassing looks from the people. She couldn't help but admitting the demon should get something new to wear, something... let's say... more colorful. The "all-black state of fashion" made him look like he was attending a funeral, not to mention his complexion too. (The only question is, whose funeral will it be?)  
  
"Hello, Kuwabara, Yukina! I had absolutely no idea that I would see you two here." Botan gave her greetings and a fake smile when the sight of the colors orange and aqua came into view.  
  
"Hi, Botan!" Yukina was the first one to notice.  
  
Tilting his head up, Kuwabara stopped from chewing on his food when he discovered who was also standing beside the ferry girl, "And... shrimpy??! What the heck are you doing here?!" (Haha, shrimpy...)  
  
A small growl was heard from the short fire demon as he reaches for his sword. Botan noticed Hiei's move and stepped on his foot purposefully. Hiei yelped silently and glared daggers at her in return. Botan immediately moved away from him a little bit and faced Kuwabara's surprising expression, "Oh, I was going for something to eat. And I met Hiei on the way, so we decided to come here since he's hungry too... heh, I guess. But we can't see to find any empty seats here."  
  
Kuwabara was not listening, but only locked up in a glaring competition with the short demon.  
  
"Botan, you can sit with us if you want to." Yukina offered in a delightful tone.  
  
"Thanks, Yukina, you're such a sweetie."  
  
"What?! There's no way I'm letting Hiei sit here! There's a lot of empty seats right over there!" Kuwabara exclaimed after hearing the news.  
  
"Aah, Kuwa-chan, that's the smoking area; Hiei doesn't smoke. And you have to know secondhand smoke is not good for your health either." Botan had already placed herself next to the delicate ice apparition, leaving Hiei no choice but to sit next to Kuwabara. Hiei scowled at Botan. The blue- haired girl just pretended to not see his killer look.  
  
"What's wrong, Hiei? Why don't you sit? There's plenty of room here."  
  
Glancing over Yukina as she spoke, Hiei reluctantly sat near the very edge beside the carrot-top. He quietly mumbled something about "baka ningen... ferry girl... make them pay..." Kuwabara was quite oblivious to Hiei's muttering, while Botan, sitting the opposite of Hiei across the table, let out an anxious squeak and quickly hid herself behind a menu.  
  
"Um, let's see what do they have on here..."  
  
"Botan, you should try this refreshment Kazuma got for me. It tastes like snow, only sweeter, and it melts in your mouth too. It's delicious." Yukina said as she took a spoonful of her sundae. The look on her face was out of sheer joy. Hiei somehow found it to his liking to see his sister like this.  
  
"Sundae does sound good to me, even if it's only almost the middle of February out there. What about you, Hiei? Would you like one too?"  
  
"Hn, no."  
  
By listening to Yukina's detailed description on the fare, Hiei was also interested in trying one. But he restrained the urge, because he was still thinking on how to take revenge on Kuwabara for 'stimulating' Yukina's feelings to make her feel attracted to the ugly fool.  
  
"Suit yourself then... Excuse me, Miss, can I get a strawberry sundae here?" Botan waved to the waitress.  
  
"Sure thing, hon."  
  
As they waited, Kuwabara was staring outside the window, seemed very grumpy due to the fact that he couldn't have some alone time with Yukina. Hiei closed his eyes, still engaged with his 'evil' thoughts. Yukina was complimenting to Botan on the restaurant's design...  
  
"Here is your strawberry sundae, enjoy."  
  
The waitress came back after several minutes and set the order on the table. Botan was more than happy to see her dessert to finally arrive. When she was about to dig in with her spoon, the cup suddenly lifted itself up and flew right toward Kuwabara. Botan shrieked as the carrot-top turned in time just to find scoops of strawberry sundae dumped all on his shirt.  
  
"Eek, this is a new shirt-OW!" Standing up abruptly, Kuwabara's forehead hit the lamp that's been hanging down from the ceiling.  
  
"Kazuma, are you alright?" Yukina leaned over worriedly.  
  
"I s-see stars... I'll be fine, babe. Be right back..." Kuwabara dizzily answered and crawled out of his seat and ran for the restroom to save his shirt.  
  
While Yukina was busying looking at the direction of the restroom concerned, Botan retrieved back the empty cup from the other side of table. She examined it carefully, and then eyed Hiei skeptically. The fire demon was staring at some invisible object innocently.  
  
'Could it be that the cup accidentally slipped from my hand?' Botan thought with doubt, eyes never left off of Hiei.  
  
After a short while, the great Kuwabara has finally returned with a large stain on the chest area of his shirt, and also a huge bump on his head. Grumbling something, he sat back down with a small frown while Botan was still mourning over the loss of one of her favorite pastime snacks. Yukina then made sure Kuwabara was fine and eventually looked relieved. And just as the unlucky carrot-top reached down to his plate and picked up his food...  
  
"YUCK! Eewww, what is this stuff?!"  
  
Again everybody's attention was drawn to the carrot-top at the table. He started spitting, trying to get out whatever that was in his mouth.  
  
"Kuwabara, you're spitting on me! What's gotten into you now?" Botan wiped some saliva off her face with her sleeve, feeling sickened.  
  
"Sorry, Botan! It's just that my fries is tasting weird."  
  
"Hm?" Both Botan and Yukina bent over to see what's in Kuwabara's plate. There was this blackish, dry, most unappetizing mass of 'thing' they'd ever seen.  
  
"Kuwabara, are you sure you ordered the right thing?"  
  
"Yeah! It wasn't like this when I first got them. Now, it looks all burned up... Do you think this restaurant is haunted?!"  
  
"You fool, maybe that's why it is called 'fries'." The quiet Hiei now decided to speak up.  
  
"But, it's- I-grr..." Kuwabara was a little upset that he couldn't think of any comebacks at Hiei. Rather than arguing with the demon, he crossed his arms and sat in displeasing gag until his brain just clicked as he turned back to the now smirking Hiei.  
  
"Shorty! It was you! Wasn't it?! First you spilled sundae on me, causing me to get a concussion when I stood up; then you tried to poison my food, making me to have indigestion. You tried to kill me, didn't you?!" Hearing a smirk from Hiei, the orange head grabbed short fire demon by his collar and shook him roughly.  
  
"Wow, I'm shocked to see you're still alive and as irksome as ever, after all those murdering attempts you accused me of putting you through."  
  
"You runt! Stop acting like you didn't do this! I'm gonna-"  
  
"Kazuma, please stop. Botan and I were here the whole time. We didn't see Hiei does anything wrong." Yukina extended out her hand on Kuwabara's arm, indicating him to end his dispute with the fire demon.  
  
"Of course, Yukina. Whatever you say!"  
  
Kuwabara let go of Hiei immediately and grinned at Yukina. Hiei threw a disgust glare at him and went back staring at intangible objects again. Botan was just more confused. She was beginning to think that Hiei was most likely the 'wicked' mastermind behind all the bad happenings to Kuwabara.  
  
"Pssst, Hiei!" Whispering to the fire demon, Botan wanted to get a hold of his attention unknown to her other two companions. But Hiei didn't seem to hear, so she tried again, louder than the last time, "Psssssst! Hiei!"  
  
Hiei was still in the trance of self-isolationism as Botan became more and more hopeless. Secretly, she kicked Hiei lightly on the shin under the table. It was no use. Then she began to kick him repeatedly on the same spot, harder than every previous ones. By the eleventh time, when Botan was starting to think if she had probably laid some serious bruises on his leg, Hiei snarled:  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Yukina and Kuwbara watched strangely as Botan gave a "Heh, heh, I need to have a word with Hiei for a moment in private." She said and dragged a very infuriated Hiei away to a corner.  
  
"What do you want?!" Hiei fumed while stealing some glances at Kuwabara who was now looking festive that the obnoxious fire demon was gone, and started a pleasant conversation with Yukina at the table.  
  
"You know, Hiei, you really should get a hint. I was trying to talk to you, and you didn't even hear me. So I had to use some desperate measures. You're even denser than I thought." Said Botan, seriously testing Hiei's tolerance.  
  
"Get a hint?! Hn, maybe you should do that. Baka, did it ever come across your mind that perhaps I was ignoring you on purpose?! You're lucky that I don't usually hit females, but then again I've never considered you one but a lousy blabbermouth!!"  
  
Fists clenched in tight balls, Hiei looked as if he was barely on the tip of wanting to torture someone so badly. (Run! Botan! O.o)  
  
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Survival Class 101 Tutorials – Today's Lesson:  
  
Never trust someone you don't very well know with. (Cough, Hiei, cough) Sometimes, even your best friend betrays you. Okay, so never trust anybody completely!! Regard people with some determination and be on your guard at all times.  
  
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A/N:  
  
Okies, fans, above is some advices on how to survive in this CRUCIAL world with danger lurking everywhere. It was something I should have wrote ever since the first chapter. (Why do you think this story is called 'Survival CLASS 101' anyway?) I guess it kinda slipped my mind. From now on, there will be one every chapter, I think...  
  
Oh, before I forget again, I have a note for my dear reviewer "sailor- z-360" if you're still reading this:  
  
Romance, extremely descriptive kissing?! My, aren't you just in a bit of rush. This is only the fourth chapter of the story. There will be romance, of course. But the kissing part probably won't happen until the last chappie. Besides, what can you expect from a rated PG story, hm? Man, you crack me up! Thanks for the review, peace out!  
  
I feel beloved! Ahem, I mean- I had no idea you people think this story was good. (I thought I'd hardly get more than 20 reviews.) Oh, you've made me so happy! (Crying tears of joy) ARIGATOU GOZAI MASU! 


	5. The torture goes on

Survival Class 101  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho... But, I have a dream! XD  
  
(--Blahs--) = my annoying insertion in the story. Can't help it when I feel talkative.  
  
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Chapter 5 – The "torture" goes on...  
  
"Get a hint?! Hn, maybe you should do that. Baka, did it ever come across your mind that perhaps I was ignoring you on purpose?! You are lucky that I don't usually hit females, but then again, I've never considered you one but a lousy blabbermouth!"  
  
"Hey! I resent that. Hmph, if it weren't for me taking care of your boo-boos after that last mission, you'd still be limping around for days, you ungrateful jerk!" The blue-haired grim reaper huffed as she placed one hand on her hip and the other poking into Hiei's chest.  
  
"Oh, thank you so much for nursing me and my fragile body back to health." Hiei said sarcastically, slapping Botan's hand away. "Hn! If it weren't for you, I'd be already saved from a whole lot of troubles by now. Besides, nobody's asked for your help last time. I could have recuperated myself."  
  
"Whatever you say. I didn't drag you here to argue, you know." Botan crossed her arms and decided not to continue the quarrel with the stubborn demon.  
  
"Then stop wasting my time."  
  
'Look who's wasting whose time...' Botan rolled her eyes. "Well, I just wanted to know if you're the one who's been doing those um... things to Kuwabara?"  
  
"What things?" Hiei asked, barely focused on the ferry girl's words.  
  
"C'mon, you know what I'm talking about here."  
  
"What are you talking about here?"  
  
"About what happened to the sundae cup and his food!"  
  
"Hn, maybe it is like the fool said. This place is cursed with evil spirits."  
  
"Don't give me that. We both know that it's not true."  
  
"Does it matter if it was me or not?"  
  
"Of course it does! If it was you, you need to stop it this instant!"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Well...?"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Was it you?"  
  
"Hn." (I'm sure that conversation took a lot of space. -.-)  
  
"Arrgh!" Botan was definitely getting tired of Hiei's meaningless answers. On the other hand, Hiei was also too fed up with her interrogation. Both just gawked at each other, thinking to themselves how to make the other suffer in the most insightful way.  
  
"Botan," Then came the sweet voice that belonged to no other than the pretty ice apparition – Yukina.  
  
"Yes? What is it, my dear?" Hearing her name being called by her friend, Botan's fiery mood had a total 180-degree turn. She swirled her back to Hiei as she gave Yukina a hearty smile.  
  
"Um, Kazuma and I are leaving."  
  
"Really... where are you going now?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Kazuma said there is this 'onsen' place that we can go next." Said the aqua-haired girl, sounded uncertain to her own sentence. (For any of you who have no idea what an "onsen" is, it means hot spring... I think.)  
  
"A spa?! Oh, I'd love to go there too!" With that, Botan made a grab for Yukina's hand and dashed toward the exit, leaving a confounded Hiei behind. He knows he shouldn't leave Yukina alone with Kuwabara on such occasion and followed them. The brother was set to keep his sister out of the incompetent oaf's hands...  
  
As they rode on the bus, Botan and Yukina were chitchatting happily. And for Hiei, it took Botan forever to "induce" him to take the Ningen transportation; he didn't even comply. But having Yukina to convince him... the record said five seconds before he gives the nod. The fire demon was death glaring some passengers to scare them off for trying to take the seat next to him, which worked well. There's a whole bunch of people standing on the bus eyeing the empty seat wistfully. (Poor passengers...)  
  
While on the other hand, Kuwabara had a sour look remained on his face. He was more than displeased to hear that Botan was going to tag along with him and Yukina on their date, even Hiei! He was planning to ditch the two right back at the diner, but it was left a failure since Yukina told them about their departure. It wasn't really Botan he was angry at; it was his 'archenemy', Hiei. He was sure the short demon was up to no good since Hiei has always been the anti-social one. Why would he now get involved with any sort of human activity out of his own will? Whatever the case it might be, Kuwabara was set to keep his girlfriend out of the hazardous, evil Shorty's grasp... (Hm, sounds familiar somewhere?)  
  
Upon the arrival at a reserved district, the gang entered through a finely decorated gate. Inside was a little garden filled with various potted flower. Strolling through the pebbly path, they came across another lobby room.  
  
"That'll be 13,680 yen for four." Said a woman to Kuwabara at the counter.  
  
"Nani?!" the carrot top was a little stunned to hear the price. He dug inside his wallet while frowning.  
  
"Oh thank you, Kuwabara! I will pay you back my share as soon as possible." Botan was all beaming brightly with hands clapped together.  
  
Kuwabara only smiled weakly and handed the cashier his entire life savings. The woman at the register was having much difficulty of accepting it since Kuwabara won't let loose his tight hold on the cash. After a while of struggling, he was reluctant to let go.  
  
"Hm? Where is Hiei?" Botan was the first one to notice after the cashier sent them into the further portion of the resort.  
  
"Wasn't he just here a minute ago?"  
  
"Grr! Stupid shorty! If he wasn't even going to stay, then he should have just said so! I wasted all my fortunes on him!" Kuwabara may have seemed angry, but he certainly wished that Hiei wasn't there to ruin everything.  
  
"Calm down, Kuwabara. He's probably just wandered off. Yukina and I are going to enjoy the hot spring over there now. We'll meet up later." Said Botan carelessly as she walked down the hall with Yukina.  
  
"Hey! Wait!"  
  
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'Aah, this is what I called life... no missions, no death threatening problems, no Hiei...' thought Botan, wrapped in a towel, as she relaxed herself in the hot spring.  
  
"Yukina? Why don't you come in? The water is fine." Opening one eye, Botan looked up from her position.  
  
The aqua-haired girl blushed a little, holding closer to her towel and replied, "Iie, the water is too warm."  
  
Botan barely contained a chuckle, "Of course it's warm, silly. But I guess you can't adapt to the temperature since your element is ice... Well, you can try that one. I think it's cold water." Said the ferry girl, pointing to a nearby pool.  
  
Yukina approached to the pool left of her friend hesitantly. Botan watched as the girl carefully dipped her fingers into the transparent fluid; then a small smile was lit up on her dubious feature. With a miniature splash, her body sank lower into the spring. "You're right, Botan. This water is refreshing."  
  
The ferry girl also smiled back and leaned against the side of the pool with both her eyes shut again as she continued to wander in her la-la land until...  
  
"Aaah!"  
  
A scream was suddenly heard from her left. Botan stopped her daydreaming and popped her head up to see what was going on. "What's the matter, Yukina?"  
  
"I think I saw something moving in that bush." Said Yukina, slightly frightened.  
  
"Really..." Botan climbed out of the hot spring and drew near the rustling plants. She picked up all her courage and pushed aside the leaves, "Aha!"  
  
A yellow spotted cat jumped over Botan's arm and bolted away in lightning speed. The ferry girl give an eased sigh, "It's just a cat, Yukina. Nothing to worry abou-"  
  
CRASH!  
  
"Do not fear, my ice princess! I, Kazuma Kuwabara, shall save you from any danger with my irresistible manly power!!" Both girls were startled as the wooden wall next to them came collapsing down on the ground. A half- nude Kuwabara stumbled in secondly from the dust, coughing.  
  
"Yukina!" When Botan and Yukina didn't even have the time to register what the was happening at the moment, another black blur also appeared in a flash on the opposite of Kuwabara.  
  
There they stood, an apparently concerned Hiei and a scarcely clothed Kuwabara.  
  
"Shorty! What are you doing here!! Wait... Were you trying to take advantages on Yukina?! How dare you!!" Kuwabara was already charging at Hiei like a mad bull.  
  
Hiei dodged the un-expecting assault by merely an inch, "What?! I'm guilty of no such thing! You repulsive human!"  
  
"Bite my ankle, dirt bag! You disgust me! I'm gonna beat the daylights out of you!!"  
  
"How DARE you to think that I would take advantages over Yukina!!"  
  
"That's it boys! No more fighting!" Botan forced herself in front of Hiei and Kuwabara. She extended both hands up in midair to prevent them from launch another blow at each other. "There shouldn't be more violence. I expected the better of you two! Out of all people, you..."  
  
The ferry girl paused when she found the two boys weren't listening but somewhat dazed. "Is there something on my face?"  
  
"Um, Botan, your towel..." Kuwabara managed to blurt out as Botan looked down to herself and realized what was wrong: the towel around her was slowly loosening off from her body, exposing the upper part of her breast. But the worst part was yet to come... Hiei, being the one born with inconvenient height problems, his eye level was basically paralleled to Botan's chest area...  
  
"Eep!" With a gasp out of embarrassment, Botan quickly grabbed her towel before it could completely slip off. Kuwabara laughed uneasily while Hiei gave an "hn" and turned away, a tint of pink across his cheek. The ferry girl's face was now steamed red like a hot pepper. It was only a matter of few seconds before she exploded...  
  
"PERVERTS!!"  
  
SLAP!  
  
SLAP!  
  
THUD! (And they hit the deck!)  
  
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A/N:  
  
There goes another chapter. It's a little bit longer. I was listening to music when I typed the chappie. So exactly how it turned out, I'm not sure. Was it good? Bad? I do get distracted a lot sometimes. Well, nothing else to say... maybe I should answer some of the reviews from the last chapter just to be thankful for the supports.  
  
Robin Autumn: You're the first one to review! Thank you! And yep! You're right! We LOVE the pairing Hiei/Botan!  
  
HieilovesBotan: Hiei is evil? Hohoho, trust me, he won't be THAT mean to Botan later on. You'll see! (winks)  
  
sunshine14586: Hehehe... you want it upgraded? That can only be arranged by the amount of your reviews! For now, I only have one thing to say to you is "Patience is a virtue." :D  
  
taste of fire: I'm glad that you liked it. Here is more that's coming on your way!  
  
tuathafaerie: I liked the shin kicking part too. It does hurt a lot. Now I updated my fic, don't forget about yours!  
  
BlazingBotan: Aww, thanks for the compliment!  
  
Tesina Gela Gardner: It did? I hope this one will make you laugh too.  
  
LivingImpared: How soon is this? Haha, I'm happy that you thought it was good.  
  
Mr. Bunny-chan-san: A big slab of meant, huh? I'll have you know that I'm NOT a vegetarian. Heh heh, your review is encouraging and yet at the same time very funny! I laughed!  
  
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	6. A matter between life and death

Survival Class 101 

Disclaimer**: **The day I finally own Yu Yu Hakusho will be the happiest day of my life... (sighs) It's going to be a long wait.

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**Chapter 6 – A matter between life and death...**

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kuwabara. I know you were just worried about Yukina's safety." Said Botan, giving an apologetic smile.

"Thad... okaay..." Kuwabara was having a difficult time speaking well with his swollen cheeks. He now understands how it was like when Yusuke was being slapped by Keiko.

The whole gang was currently sitting in the guest room they had booked. Slight awkwardness could still be felt after the incident at the pools even though the matters had been explained. Yukina was tending to Kuwabara's "severely" wounded face with her healing powers as the carrot-top blushed. Hiei sat by himself in the corner with his head away from the others. (Doesn't he always?) A dim crimson color was lingering over his face as well.

Yukina repositioned her hands back in her laps and looked at the blushing Kuwabara, "I've healed your swelling, Kazuma. But your face looked even redder than before. Are you still hurt?"

"I'm feeling great, babe! Your caring loving touch has given me strength! Now with the power of our love shining through, I shall protect you forever and ever with my life!" exclaimed Kuwabara theatrically as he got a hold of Yukina's hands. Unnoted to him, Hiei's hand is already on his weapon. The reason the orange-head isn't sliced and diced yet because there were TOO MANY witnesses if Hiei killed him.

"Um..." The ice apparition was clearly puzzled by Kuwabara's speech.

"Kuwa-chan, perhaps my pneumatherapy will be some of a help to your face too." Botan cut in before Kuwabara could show more of his love affections for Yukina. (In the manga, "pneumatherapy" means spirit healing)

"No thanks. I think I'm good for now." Said Kuwabara, letting go of the ice apparition.

"Oh, are you sure that you don't need it?"

"Hn, what about me?" Hiei decided to speak up, much too everyone's surprise. They had almost forgotten that he was present. Of course, being the less talkative one he is.

Botan blinked, "What?"

"You hit me twice as hard."

It was true. Botan had slapped him harder than Kuwabara... for paybacks. She dislikes the way Hiei had threatened her. So when the opportunity knocks, the ferry girl wouldn't just let the perfect chance to get revenge slide away.

"I'll heal your injuries for you if you want, Hiei." said Yukina, moving toward the fire demon.

"Don't bother, Yukina. Hmph! Serves him right for peeping at girls." Botan pulled Yukina back.

Hiei's face went pale, shaking his fists. "First of all, baka, I would NEVER 'peep' at Yukina. Second of all, I wouldn't even be intrigued in seeing your naked body. You stu-"

_Bonk!_

A magazine traveled through the air and landed on Hiei's head. The fire demon glowered around to find the "fool" who had rather signed his death wish. His eyes set on the busying fidgeting her fingers Grim Reaper – guilty!

"...Um, it slipped?" Swallowing hard, Botan fought back the urge of yelling at Hiei when she received the fiercest glare alive ever of the human history.

"Eheheheheh... Oh! Is that a karaoke machine? I love singing!" Botan crawled hurriedly to the television set, far, FAR away from Hiei and his dreadful complexion. She picked up the microphone and tested it and then pressed a few buttons on the remote. "Aah, here we go! This one of my favorite songs."

Yukina and Kuwabara looked in curiosity as Botan jumped to her feet. Hiei could careless and stared with boredom, hoping the ferry girl would humiliate herself. The music came on secondly as the TV screen started showing subtitles...

"_I am a dreamer... Hisomu pawa..._" Words flowed out of Botan's mouth, creating a well harmony combined with the melody... (That's the song I'm listening to right now as I'm typing this chapter. Can you guess what song it is?)

"_Genkai no nai, kanousei ga koko ni aru..._"

"... _It's gonna be your world!_"Botan did a 360-degree twirl excitedly and danced, fully indulged in her own little world as she sang along.

"'_Omoi' ga subete wo kaete yuku yo! Kitto... kitto... Odoroku kurai!_" As the music itself ceased, Botan finished her song with a wink at everybody in the room. Hiei almost puked at the wink... (Too much sweetness for him! XD)

"That was great, Botan!" Yukina complimented, clapping.

"You really think so?" Botan puts a hand behind her head and laughed shyly. But she then quickly threw a scowl at Hiei, who is at the farthermost corner, when she heard him making a sarcastic hurling sound. Turning back to the ice apparition, Botan asked. "Say, Yukina. Do you want to give it try at this?"

"But I don't know how."

"I'll teach you! Now let's see..." Botan scanned over the menu on the program and smiled. "This song is perfect!"

"Okay, just remember what you've learned." After a round of teaching class, the ferry girl handed the microphone to Yukina. She took it with a bit of timidness.

"You can do it, babe!" Kuwabara was being very supportive and waved eagerly like a fan. Hiei rolled his eyes at the orange-head, also turning face forward to Yukina.

The music came on again as Yukina began, "_Massugu na hitomi, itsumo damatteru. Yume o miru tabi ni, soppo muite waratteru..._" (Guess which song this is!)

"..._Anata ga ni aeta anata to sugoshite. Ima koko ni sotto ukabu. Afureru kono omoi o uke tomete..._"

"..._Mizu mo, kaze mo, taiyou mo, daichi mo, tsuki mo, hoshi mo, tsutsun de kureru..._"

"_-Anata ga kureta mirai no kakere ga. Hora koko ni hikatteru kara. Meguri aeta omoi wa hitotsu dake._"

The song ended. Yukina put down the microphone and looked at everyone's amazed face in question, "Did I do it right?"

"Are you KIDDING, babe?! That was the most beautiful singing I've ever heard in my whole life!!" Kuwabara ran to Yukina like a breeze of the wind.

"Hn. It was good." Said Hiei as if whispering. Botan rolled her eyes and thought to herself on how she has never gotten a compliment like that out of Hiei.

Yukina smiled, "Thank you, Hiei."

"Alrighty! Now it's my turn!" Kuwabara rushed to the karaoke set...

As another hour was spent, the room was filled with loud singing and laughter. Botan had excused herself when Kuwabara was choosing songs and ran out, then came back with bags of junk food after a few minutes. Now she and the carrot-top were having some sort of competition to see who sings the best after finishing twenty cans of sodas. Hiei was covering his ears to make sure that his eardrums won't get damaged from those two's terrible singings, which he considered to be nothing but more like the discordant howls of wild dogs. It was getting too difficult for him to concentrate. Yukina was just sitting there, looking happier as ever. Botan asked if Hiei wanted to sing also. The fire demon declined immediately. Kuwabara then made fun of him, saying that he can't sing. Hiei was really ticked off when the orange-head laughed at him. He really wanted to kill someone now... Yep, they are definitely having a fun time!

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"This is absolutely pointless!!" Hiei rumbled as he watched Yukina and Kuwabara walking side by side in the front toward the front table of the spa.

The day has ended, and so is the date. The fire demon has done nothing to accomplish his "plans" he originated, but suffering from the fact that he almost went deaf when Kuwabara and Botan were playing with the karaoke machine back there.

"It was at least... _hic_! Fun." Murmured Botan dizzily, between a few hiccups. She had just broken the record of drinking the highest amount of beverage in one sitting.

Hiei snorted and was about to criticize how pathetic Botan and her stupid plot was, he saw Kuwabara putting an arm around Yukina's shoulder. Seeing Yukina didn't jerk away, Kuwabara grinned happily. But Hiei was already off his toleration for the day and sword drawn, "That's it! The idiot is going down!"

He flew himself at Kuwabara, but somehow fell on his face as he felt a yank below. Hiei cursed, getting up halfway on his hands and looked back to his feet. Botan had her arms around his ankles tightly, preventing him from moving forward.

"So you finally came back to your senses... Now let go!" Hiei waded, dragging Botan along on the ground.

"No! I won't let you hurt Kuwabara!"

"What's wrong with you?!! Now let go before I-"

"No. Never! I won't let you ruin their happy moment!"

Hiei growled angrily and tried to kick Botan's arms off of his legs, but the ferry girl won't even let her hold loose even the slightest bit. He whipped his head around to find Kuwabara and Yukina were getting further and further away, he barked at Botan, "Hurry up and let go of me! Or I'll chop your hands off!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Fine! You asked for it!" The fire demon raised his sword...

_PLOP!_

With a gasp, Botan unexpectedly let go of Hiei, making him lose his balance at his current position and fell into a nearby pool. Looking stunned at what she had done, Botan gulped as she got up on her feet and drew close to the side of the pool. It has been a while since Hiei fell into the pool, and there is still no sign of him coming up for air yet. The ferry girl began to worry.

'Could he be drowned? The pool isn't that deep. But then again, Hiei is not that _tall_...' Botan looked closely in the water. It's getting late, and she couldn't see a thing.

"Hiei?"

_SPLASH!_

The water suddenly shot up and splattered everywhere. Botan wiped away some water off her face and gazed down. There in the middle of the drained pool, stood a VERY SCARY looking Hiei, right hand holding something that looked awfully familiar to the Fist of the Mortal Flame.

"Onna, I'll give you a ten seconds head start..." His voice was low and dangerous.

"W-what?"

"One,"

"I didn't mean to make you fall, Hiei. It was an accident... hehe."

"Two,"

"Come on, you can't be serious about this!"

"Three,"

"..." It was obvious that Hiei was in the mood for retaliation and some harsh torture. Botan was already panicking to materialize her oar. Out of all the things in her mind, the only one she could think of right now is to RUN FOR HER LIFE!

"-Ten!"

"Hey! That's not fair! You miscounted, you cheat-Oof!"

Just as soon as Botan adjusted herself on her oar, she was being tackled down to the ground eating dirt. She groaned as she felt her whole body ached. Then everything went black...

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**A/N:**

Whoo! This chapter is longer than usual. I decided that I'd be nice to update earlier than I expected. Who knows how long would it be when I can have the access to the internet again since I'm busying with homework and everything?

So how many of you know the two songs I used in this chapter? The one Botan sang was "Platinum", and Yukina's was "Only One", both from Card Captor Sakura. They are great songs! I really like them!

**sailor-z-360: **Well, um... What can I say? You do have a point there about the PG

rating has nothing to do with the kissing. But it'll still be a long while

before you see that scene!

**tuathafaerie: **I wouldn't oppose if you try to do that on the bus though. But to reach

Hiei's level of meanness, I'd say that all of us still need a lot of works.

What do you think? :P

**sunshine14586: **You thought it was good? Aww, thanks! Good thing you didn't die

literally, or you would miss this chapter and a lot of other good

stuffs that'll be coming along later.

**dark-demon-angel: **I hope you liked this chapter as well. Thanks!

**HieilovesBotan: **Another update! Is this ending making you laugh? Well, I certainly

hope it did.

**Robin Autumn: **Thank you for the compliment. Hey, I checked out your new story!

It's awesome! Yay! More HB stories!

**Bar-Ohki: **"Worst Case Senario Handbook"? Hm... Tell me where I can buy it...

**Doggydude: **Such high stake on putting your own life on counting me to write more!

Of course I can't t let a fan down, right? Your idea is very creative! I'll

try and consider it. I agree it would look so cute if Hiei was in love...

**BlazingBotan: **I hope you haven't lost your patience yet. Here's more!

**joisu: **I'm really happy that you thought this was good. Thanks!

**Vx2: **(pokes Vx2) Are you okay? :P**  
**

**Anichan: **I'm terrible? In a good way, or a bad way? Oh well, there is the chapter.

**telephone icecream: **Aww, thanks. I think I just broke my promise on updating

so regularly. -.-

**Mr. Bunny-chan-san: **Arigatou! I hope you eat some more sugar if you are to review

again. :P

**Silverchild of the winds: **Oro? What fake wig? I didn't quite catch that... Oh well,

thanks for the review!

**LivingImpared: **Yeah! I totally agree with you. It's not like Hiei can control his

height problems. Haha! What you said was kinda funny!

**A very sugar-high H/B fanatic: **Ooh, long pen name! So we are talking about that

YYH Valentine OAV Special again, aren't we...?

Unfortunately I've never seen it either. Some say

it's a rumor, but others say it's real and long lost.

I would too like to find it someday... if it does exist**.**

**Mitsu Flame: **Here is another update! Hope you liked it!

**Samurai Ferry Girl: **Do you call this update _soon_? Glad that you thought the story

was cool.

**Sillyningengirl: **Two reviews in a row, ne? Thanks for adding the story to your

favorites!! Is this chapter as good as you expected?

**Hiei's Ice Maiden: **I update! Maybe not so soon, but... grr... Thanks for the review!

**Somus: **I hope you find this chapter funny also. Thank you!

Woah! It took me a while to answer those... I hope I didn't forget anyone. I got more than 20 reviews last time. Thank you all so much! Even it's just a simple comment like "this is good, update soon", it's still so encouraging to me! Okay, my eyes are hurting... See y'all later!


	7. Sweet memories last forever

**Survival Class 101 **

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, sadly!

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**Chapter 7 – "Sweet" memories last forever! **

_Snores, snores..._

Koenma, the Underworld's young prince, had his head slumped against his work desk as usual whenever he uses up the full capacity of his brain for the day. Drools coming down from his half opened mouth have made a stream across his usually messy paper works. The small child was once again indulged in his dreamland where nothing existed but cute teenage girls wearing swimming suits on the beach filled with countless palm trees, truly a paradise with no strict parents, no annoying ogres, no paper works, and no spankings...

"Koenma-sama! Koenma-sama, I've returned from my assignment!"

The sleepy ruler cracked his bloodshot eyes open as someone walked through the entrance to his office. He lifted up his head while wiping off the saliva that is all over his one side of face.

"Ogre, you already finished cleaning the mess I made in the bathroom? Arrgh... that was fast... Remind me to never eat seafood again... Geesh, not to mention the toilet is way too high... It's so easy to miss, you know. I still like my old potties better. And my dad says-" Before Koenma could go on with his absent-minded blabbering, he was being rudely interrupted.

"Koenma-sama! It's me, Botan!"

"Huh? OH! Hello Botan! Had a good time in Ningen- _Holy cheese ball_! What in Reikai's name has happened to you?!" Looking at his worker, Koenma's lips went apart in surprise.

The exhausted ferry girl sighed heavily. A frown wore on her somewhat muddy face. Her old tidy pink kimono was decorated with small cuts, rips, and not to mention some dirt also. Strands of hair fell loose from on her shoulder, giving others a pitiful sympathy toward her weary form.

"It's a _long _story..." Botan replied tiredly while redoing her ponytail and straightening her unkempt clothing in the process.

"Yeah? I'm all for it."

Sighing again, Botan furrowed unhappily. Her cotton candy-colored eyes averted to the marble floor. Biting slightly on her lower lip, she ran her fingers through her bangs. "Well, it's not really of any importance... I just... tripped and fell?"

"Really? That must be some fall!" Koenma watched suspiciously as Botan's face turned into a shade of red, whether of embarrassment or anger, he could not tell.

--------------------------------------------- _Flashback_ ---------------------------------------------

"Er... What happened?"

Botan asked to herself while her self consciousness swam in the dark. Suffering from what it seemed like an instant headache, she could feel all the blood rushed up to her forehead, fully overcome by complete dizziness. Trying her hardest to remember the recent events that took place, a quick message soared through her mind in a flash.

Hurriedly forcing her eyes open, she found herself immobile. _How can it be?_ It was no quicker when she also found out that she was... _upside down_? Her busy mind was searching wildly through the every possibility to answer her current state, and then finally her brain clicked.

_Hiei!!_

"Hn, you awake yet?"

"Hiei! Wha-what did you do?!" Botan practically yelled when she realized that she was tied up with ropes hanging down from a thick branch of a tree. That explains a lot why she was having a headache. _Hm, but where did Hiei find the ropes though...? Botan, dear, get a hold of your self! This is no time to be thinking about something so trivial like this! ...Hey, did he go to the nearby store to buy them? ... Grr, I need to stop this!_

At the end of the very same branch Botan and her life hung on, sat a smirking demon with his back leaned against the tree trunk. His piercing red eyes looked at the helpless girl in midair with amusement. "Just thought I'd get my revenge while I'm at it."

"_Revenge_? What revenge?! I didn't do anything to you!!" The poor ferry girl swung back and forth desperately. "Hiei Jaganshi! You better let me down this instant so I can get my hands on your little puny head at once!!"

"Actually, I prefer you be in this way. It just makes it more..." Pausing, Hiei narrowed his eyes. Then, he let out a sneer. "...Entertaining."

"Entertaining?! How can you call this entertaining?!" cried Botan. She felt like she could throw up any minute now. _The better if I can throw up on Hiei!_

Hiei placed his sword against his shoulder and stared down at Botan. "I wonder, what are the chances of you getting a concussion if you're dropped from thirty feet above the ground."

"Thir-thirty feet?" Botan whimpered, looking down below her. "Thirty feet?! It won't be just a concussion, I'd die!"

Smirking, Hiei folded his arms, "Well then, I hope you have good reasons to convince me because otherwise... good luck." His eyes sparked and took a tight grip on his sword. "Oh, and by the way, I would suggest that you stop screaming. It won't do your current situation any good because no one will hear you in this place."

Botan studied her surroundings. It seems like they were in some sort of forest. Looks like yelling and shouting are truly no use to her but only will drain her energy. She never would have thought Hiei was serious about the whole "**I will enjoy torturing you to death**" deal. She never did anything bad to him, yet the cruel demon is threatening her. The more Botan thought about it, the angrier she got. But anger has never been the best way to solve a problem. She will just have to try something else.

The evening breeze blew on her face as Botan continued her thinking. _Well, I-I'll just try to sweet-talk him! Yes, yes! I'm very good at that, I think. That's my specialty!_ The ferry girl secretly giggled.

"Oh, come on, Hiei. You are the most honorable, decent, sweet, caring guy I know. You wouldn't hurt a vulnerable girl like me, right?" said Botan with some sugariness while thinking the opposite to herself. _Yeah right! You're the biggest, fattest, most egoistic, and dumbest jerk I have ever met in my whole life! And there is a whole big list about it where that's coming from! _

Hiei looked blankly at her from above, "Really? That's not what you've said before."

"That's not? Oh goodness, silly Hiei! I've always thought you are the nicest person alive." Botan tried her best to lift up her head and give a Hiei a cheesy grin. _Nice?! My stomach feels sick._

"Hn, thanks for the compliment." Said Hiei sarcastically.

"Of course you should! And that's not all. You are strong, powerful, and, and um..." Botan panicked. She is running out of words to say! _Well I'm not surprised! There is barely any good quality to Hiei!_

"...Um, and... Oh! And handsome! Yes, very, I'd say!"

"I-I'm what...?" Hiei's face froze.

"What? Didn't anyone ever mention that you're good-looking?"

"N-no..."

_Oh, he's stuttering! I got him right where I want it. _Botan silently cheered. She was about to think something negative to what she just said to Hiei, but nothing came up. _Um, he isn't as half bad-looking I guess... _

Hiei remained quiet. He stood up on the thick branch and took a steady step out of the shadow, right on top where the ropes were tied around. He kneeled down, examining the ropes. Botan smiled inwardly. _It looks like my plan worked. My feet will be feeling the sweet ground in no time! And then, I can beat the off-guard Hiei to death with my almighty combat bat!_ The fun image was already forming in the ferry girl's head before Hiei further interrupted her.

"Hn, I'll give you credit though, for almost making me feel special at the last minute. But too bad all of your thoughts have betrayed you!" Hiei laughed smugly as his Jagan glowed.

"You-you've been reading my thoughts?!"

"Yes, every single word of them... So, I am not _as half bad-looking_, am I?" Hiei mocked the ferry girl whose face is currently steaming red.

"You, you! You stupid half-wit!! How dare you!"

"Hn, I do what I like. And as for you, farewell!" With that being said, Hiei pulled out his sword and held it high above his head. It was no later when the ropes have been cut into two.

"No! What are you doing?! You- AAAHHHH!" Botan could feel herself falling toward the ground with high velocity. She squeezed her eyes tight shut. _No, I'm going to die!! Only if I had my hands free, then at least I can materialize my oar! _The tightness of the ropes bound around Botan constantly reminded her that she was doomed.

_Chirp, chirp..._The crickets sung.

It seems every moment is always in slow motion when something like this happens. Seconds passed, Botan could feel her body finally came into contact with something, something... _soft?_

The blue-haired girl gradually opened her eyes, only to find herself landing in the securing arms of a certain spiky-head demon. Hiei smirked down at her as if he had gained the victory. The warmth of his hold on her made the ferry girl blush. "Wha-what are you..." She wasn't able to finish her sentence when she abruptly hit the cold ground on her rear.

"Ouch..."

Standing with his back against the beautiful star-filled sky, Hiei faced Botan in a more serious manner, "This will be the last time I save you. I hope you learned your lesson well." With that, the mysterious fire demon vanished into thin air.

Slowly, Botan picked herself up as she was left speechless and blinked.

------------------------------------------_End of Flashback_--------------------------------------------

Koenma stared at his dazed worker and sucked on his pacifier. The ferry girl seemed to be having another one of her daydreaming fantasies again. "Yo! Botan!"

"Huh, what?" The ferry girl snapped away from her deep thoughts.

"So... what happened to you?"

"Nothing really. I'm fine now." Botan fidgeted with her fingers. _There's no way I'm telling Koenma what happened. That'd be too embarrassing!!_

"Well, if that's the case. You can go back to your work now." Said Koenma as he started sorting all the files on his desk.

"Yes, sir."

The ferry girl dragged her sluggish steps toward the door when she came to a fast realization. "Oi, Koenma-sama!" She called out to her boss loudly.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"You said you'd give me a break when I complete my mission! And I'll have you know that Kuwabara has been kept from getting hurt by Hiei on his date with Yukina. You also promised to triple my break time!" stated Botan as a matter of fact.

"I said that?" Koenma scratched his head, trying to remember anything related to the matter. But when seeing Botan giving him a glare, he shivered. "Ahehehe, yes. Very well! You have my permission to take a couple weeks off."

Botan beamed. "Oh, thank you so much, Koenma-sama!" She practically jumped in joy.She hummed happily to herself and walked out of her boss's office to the ferry girls' headquarter to clean up.

Outside at the balcony of the Underworld Palace, Botan materialized her oar. "Well, time to go and enjoy shopping with Keiko in the Living World, and nothing, not even Hiei and his little problems, is going to ruin my fun! I know just the place to stay at."

Momentarily, Botan flew off and headed toward the old psychic Genkai's temple, also a current dwelling for the sweet ice apparition. The clever little ferry girl knows that a certain mean fire demon obviously won't be able to hurt her in the presence of Yukina.

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**Author's note:** (beats myself to death) Oh! I'm a terrible writer, making you all dedicated readers wait for months like that! (Though I do have a lot of excuses...) But no worries, fans! Next chappie should be out soon! (Keyword: _should_) Meanwhile, thank you all so much for the reviews. (cries) I'm SO happy!

**tuathafaerie: **Thank God, I'm still alive from all the school works and such! But I won't whine, for I shall conquer school and be a responsible author! Muwahahahahaha...! (coughs, chokes) Thanks for the review!

**Mr. Bunny-chan-san: **Thank you, thank you! You know, it makes me feel special when I'm being told that my story is funny (when it is suppose to be). Meep, I'll try to load the story with as much HB-ness as possible. And hopefully, I won't disappoint you.

**Hiei's Ice Maiden: **You hate cliffhangers, ne? Hehehe... you don't hate me for writing them, right? I dunno. There might be a lot of cliffhangers in the later chapters. I'll try to reduce the numbers though. And as for Hiei, he still needs to get his meanness lessened.

**Robin Autumn: **To answer why Hiei took so long to come back up from the pool, I have no idea. :P I think he was devising some plans on how to "torture" Botan and the sorts when he was under the water. I appreciate your review. And also update your story soon!

**Sillyningengirl: **(bows) Aww, thanks for the compliment. You're so nice!

**Vx2: **Of course, you can never read too many HB fics. They are the best of the best!

**Starlover: **Oi, sorry for the late update. I'll try to update on time more often.

**Fire Phoenix: **Oh, oh! I have heard Hiei's songs! (drools) Gotta admit it, he does have a nice voice. Which song is your favorite? I wish I could find the Mp3 for one of his songs called "Tasogare ne so Mukete". I think it's spelled that way. Turn Your Back to the Twilight? I love the midi and the words, but I just can't seem to find the place to download the full version of the song. Grr...

**Bar-Ohki: **(sighs) I don't think I'll be able to buy the book. I can't find any, at least not where I live. And as for when will Hiei complain about "baka ningen emotions"... One word: soon!

**White-Destiny-Pure-Snow:** Yee, thank you for your review. Hope you liked this chapter!

**kg-rose: **Thanks for adding the story to your favorite list. I'm honored to hear that. I'm also very glad to know that you think this story is entertaining. Thanx!

**blackfirewolfX: **Haha, thank you for the review. Trust me, Botan is not going to get hurt, I think... Hiei doesn't have the heart to hurt her.

**The sugar-high H/B fanatic: **I hope you will be able to find the OVA soon. Good luck and um... don't get hurt. :P

**elfwhit: **Er... do you call this update "soon"? (guards my ice cream bowl) Thank you for your support!

**Doggydude: **You have so many creative ideas! Thanks for sharing them. I'll do what I can to make this story funnier. Hm, I really SUGGEST that you should start on writing some HB stories! That'll be great!

**BlazingBotan: **(bows) Thank you, thank you!

**LivingImpared: **Well, you are right. I feel sorry for Hiei too. Maybe I should stop writing about him getting hurt and all that stuff, hm?

**Hieilover28: **Here you go! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as well.

**Mitsu Flame: **Um... I think I really should stop writing cliffhangers. Readers react suggestively toward those, don't you agree?

**sunshine14586: **I updated... not soon. But I still updated! And by the way, I haven't finished my homework yet. I'm gonna be toast tomorrow at school...

**MystiKoorime: **Oi, long time no talk, ne? I have been working my head off lately. I'll contact you soon if I can. Meanwhile, thanks for the review. I appreciated it!

**Nightmare-Ferry-Onna: **I updated my story. Hope you liked it.

**Besanii:** Thankx! I'll have to let you know that Botan is going to try really hard to keep Kuwabara and Yukina together. Why? Didn't you know that she is a Kuwabara/Yukina fan? XD

Whew! Such a long list... I hope I didn't forget anyone. I know it has been such a long time since I updated. I apologize for any of your inconveniences. (sweat drops)


	8. Ready, set, here we go again

**Survival Class 101**

Disclaimer: Err... There was once when I dreamed that I became the producer of new YYH episodes. Nope, still don't own it!

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**Chapter 8 - Ready, Set, Here we go again...**

The sun had been up in the sky unaware by a sleeping girl who lied in the interior of a traditional Japanese temple. She breathed slowly as her chest rose and fell in a rhythmic pattern, comfortably absorbed in a peaceful slumber. A small smile tucked at the corner of the girl's lips while her mind took her on a free tour beyond every cosmetic section of the department store. She was having another one of her wonderful la-la land adventure where she found herself inherit the biggest shopping mall in all of Japan. It was no surprise. After all, Botan has had the same dream for the past one week ever since she and Keiko went on that frenzy shopping spree (in which the ferry girl thought that she was in heaven.) Sadly, good things don't last forever because her sweet slumber will soon be disturbed...

"Get up, you indolent woman," a deep voice hovered above Botan's head.

"Just five more minutes, Koenma-sama..." Botan grunted slightly in her sleep as she felt a nudge by the shoulder.

It was no later when she felt coldness consuming her as her whole body became exposed in some way. The Grimp Reaper stirred while subconsciously searching for her cover. Finding nothing to keep her warm, Botan sat up on her futon and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Gradually recovering from her blurry vision, she found her blanket being pulled away to the end of her feet. Just as she was about to make a grab for her blanket so that she could go back to her sleep, she caught a pair of blood-like eyes staring straight at her.

The cerulean-haired girl froze in her place.

"YAAAAAAAH! MONSTER!" a screech erupted. Botan squirmed her eyes tight shut and continued screaming, "Get away from me!"

Now, her watcher really began to miss the quietness that draped in the room before the girl was woken up.

"Shut up, you stupid girl, or I'll make you mute for the rest of your life!" the voice commanded.

For a second there the screaming ceased when Botan recognized the harsh voice, but it didn't last long when-

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! HIEI!"

With his ever trusty sword in hand, Hiei stood before Botan along with that scowl he always wore on his face. Apparently he didn't seem to be pleased with the blue-haired girl's reaction. He hissed through his gritted teeth, raising his deadly weapon, "Quiet! Did you not hear me or should I make myself clear?"

Botan ignored Hiei's words, instead, she made a quick dash for her blanket and held it up to her chest, letting the soft fabric drape loosely around her body. She huffed, "Don't you know to knock before you come into somone's room?"

Letting his gaze fall upon the rather insulted girl, Hiei replied nonchalantly, "I came in through the window."

"That doesn't give you any more right! Don't you even have any regard toward people's personal privacy?" argued Botan as she stared angrily back to the fire demon. "Wha-what if I didn't wear anything under, huh?"

"That's your problem, not mine."

"Whatever..." the ferry girl rolled her eyes and chose not to argue with the spike head further more. A person can never get anywhere when he gets invovled in an argument with the _unreasonable_ fire demon. Botan stood up from her place as she released her blanket, revealing her bright pink pajama embroidered with golden stars. The flamboyant cloth "burned" Hiei's eyes. He gagged, "Interesting choice of clothing. Does it glow in the dark?"

"No!" retorted Botan. She placed both hands on her hips and spoke dryly, "So what does the oh-I'm-so-great-that-I-don't-need-to-respect-other-people, almighty Hiei-_sama_ want this time?"

Hiei simply frowned,"For your information, Miss I'm-so-lazy-that-I-can't-even-get-up-on-my-own-without-having-others-to-wake-me-up: the baffon is trying to seduce Yukina again."

Clearly, Botan was not in a good mood. She replied grumpily, mimicking Hiei from before, "That's your problem, not _mine_."

Feeling mocked, Hiei glowered at the Grim Reaper, "Oh really? Didn't I recall you being assigned by the infant to keep that fool away from Yukina?"

"Hey, I was supposed to keep _you_ away from them," said Botan as a matter of fact, "and besides, it's over now. I'm on my well-deserved vacation."

"All you did was keep getting in my way last time. You have not yet carried out your promise to my ultimate plan to annihilate Kuwabara."

"Hold that thought, I didn't promise you that I'd help you to kill Kuwabara. You misunderstood."

"Oh, did I?"

Botan sighed, "Look, Hiei. Instead of you trying to kill Kuwa-chan. Why don't you try and get along with him? It would be a lot less complicated. Just give the poor guy a chance. I think he and Yukina would look cute together." A dreamy look played on her face at the thought of seeing Kuwabara and Yukina hand in hand.

Hiei felt somewhat digusted, "Never! He is worthless of my time, and Yukina is better off without him."

"Hiei! How can you say that! Have you forgotten that Kuwabara is one of your teammates? You should treat him better."

"Teammate? Hn. He is useless. No one needs him around..." the fire demon's speech went on, much to his listener's dismay.

Oh, and did I mention that Botan woke up grumpy today? Yes, it's the moment (every one of us had probably experienced) where you just feel like beating up somebody for no reason. Now Botan wasn't just going to let some rude demon barge into her room and gave her his unnecessary opinion about some orange-head. She groaned, her hands clutched her head in annoyance.

"...The only thing he is good for is to-"

"JUST STOP IT ALREADY!" shouted Botan, losing control of her temper.

At that unexpected outburst, Hiei gave her a rather stunned look.

Botan infuriated. It's time she lives up to her reputation as the _Grim_ Reaper. It's time she gave the arrogant, egoistic Jaganshi a piece of her mind.

"You know what, Hiei? You're just the most self-seeking demon I've ever seen! Why do you always have to be so mean to everyone!" Botan was really getting worked up in the hot spit battle. "Well, I don't care what your stupid reasons are! I'll just have to knock some sense out of you!" With that being said, the ferry girl stormed up to off-guard Hiei in a surprising quick speed and did something that no woman in history er... let's just say unwise enough to do:

_KA POW!_

A fist landed in Hiei's face...

O-O

O-O

Tsk, tsk, tsk... A certain ferry girl really should know to think carefully before she acts.

"Aah, that felt a lot better!" as Botan finally let out all the anger she stored all morning long, she released a satisfied sigh, that is until she saw Hiei's dangerous complexion.

The half koorime-blooded demon appears to be unharmed in any way due to Botan's lack of strength... physically. Of course he had gone through things much much more painful before than a fist in the front. However, this ignorant choice of action had him snapped. His piercing red eyes lowered under his bangs, emitting a eerie glow in his darkened expression like the devil. Smirking in a twisted way, Hiei reached for his weapon. "I guess you still haven't learned your lesson yet."

"Uh-oh..." the ferry girl seriously wanted to make a run for it but seemed to be paralyzed in fear like always. She trembled, "W-what a-are you g-going to do to me?"

"Why don't you just check it for yourself?" said Hiei, sheathing his sword.

"Huh?"

Botan felt something fell from her behind. After making sure it wasn't any of her body parts, she looked down to discover a mass of blue on the wooden floor. She gasped and reached for her now shortened hair.The poor girlsuddenly felt dizzyat the thought of having a sword so close to her neck just a second ago. She could have been easily killed if she moved just a centimeter. Soon, she fell on her knees, somewhat traumatized.

Hiei took the sign as a surrender and smirked smugly, "Hn, next time it might just be your head that's rolling on the ground. Now, get yourself dressed. We're going after _them_." The cocky demon then jumped out through the open window.

* * *

"Hiei! Kuwabara and Yukina just grocery shopping! What can possibly happen from that?" 

Botan, lagging languidly behind the short demon, complained for the tenth time. Though she wasn't going to expect an anwser. This is by far the worst morning yet: having not able to be sleeping in, getting her silky hair all cut up just because Hiei couldn't take a _harmless_ remark. At the thought of that, her hand went up to touch her uneven strands of hair that fell upon her shoudlers and sniffled wistfully. She wondered how long it will take for her hair to grow back to its original state. At least she handled her outcome well. If it had been Kurama losing his precious hair, he would have fainted...

Due to the nature of our favorite Deity of Death, it absolutely kills her when she has to suffer from an environment of complete silence. With a little more effort, Botan skipped up to Hiei in the hopes of starting a conversation.

"I was talking to you, Hiei." said Botan, now walking by the fire demon's side.

"And I wasn't listening." Hiei did not spare his companion a single glance as he replied.

"Gee, I figured as much when you didn't insult me back," Botan answered back sarcastically. "So tell me, why would you need my help with _stalking_ your sister when you can just ask Kurama, your _best_ friend, to do it since he obviously won't annoy you like I do?"

"Don't give yourself too much credit, I don't need your help. I merely required a third party's assistance so I can accomplish my goal," stated Hiei, "and to your question, the answer is simple: you're easier to be threatened with than it is with the fox."

"_Right..._ Just what are you trying to accomplish with my assistance?"

"I thought I told you before: to kill Kuwabara."

Botan groaned miserably, "There you go again! I don't get why you hate him so much. I think Kuwabara is a decent person. He deserves every bit of respect even if it has to come from you."

"Oh? You fancy him that much? Then why don't you mate with him?"

"Ewww! No way!"

"See, you're even disgusted by him,"

"No, that's not what I meant! I like him as a friend, and you should too," Botan felt somewhat embarrassed to how she had acted. She was trying to make Hiei see Kuwabara's good side for goodness's sake, but her non-trusty mouth had to fail her at the last minute. After regaining her pose, the ferry girl continued on, "besides, I will defend for any of my friends."

"Sure, if you're done defending your precious friend here, I suggest that you do more walking rather than your useless speech."

Well, it wasn't the first time that Hiei's comment has upset the blue-haired girl. She frowned and slowed down until Hiei was ahead of her by a few feet. Glaring at the back of Hiei's spiky hairdo, Botan wished that she could burn a hole right off of his head. It wasn't long before she started making sour faces at the demon behind his back. She admitted that she had some fun in doing so. I mean, why not? Hiei surely won't see with his back turned on her, right? _Right?_

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**A/N:** And there goes my first update in a long longtime. Hehehe... my apologies to everyone! Well, it's somewhat short. I hope I didn't disappoint any of you. I didn't think this chapter was being done with my best personally, but it turned out okay like I planned.Since my spellcheck didn't work, I had to do it by myself.I wasn't being too careful. Sothere might have been a few mistakes.Anyway, here is my BIG THANKS to everyone who has reviewed last time: I love you all!I'm sorry I can't replyyour reviews'cause it's been such a long time. Okay, I'm off to plan for/writethe next chappie. Wish me luck! Bye! 


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